Introduction

For the Individual Sales Report and Presentation (assessment 3) under MKT3007 (Sales and Personal Selling), the job post that was selected was for the position of Sales Representative or Sales Consultant for BMS Performance Pty Ltd. This company is based in Australia and provides total sales solutions to logistics, industry manufacturing and food and beverage companies. The company is one of the leaders in the market. The job role involves selling material handling services to the companies, interacting with warehouse managers, company owners, C level executives to discuss how their operations can be further optimised and providing them a turnkey solution along with service maintenance.

The following report aims to present a brief report on some of the key challenges/issues in the job of personal selling, their importance to B2B/B2C sectors and how such problems can be overcome. A sales pitch will be given that will highlight the merit of application and a final elevator pitch for the application.

Section 1: Sales Report

Critical Issues/Challenges in Personal Selling

In the highly dynamic and rapidly changing landscape of sales and marketing, especially considering the recent impact of Covid 19 and the multicultural market of Australia, online tools have established themselves as a preferred mode of engagement (Cosic et al., 2020). It is important therefore for sales people, including those involved in personal selling, to be aware of the critical issues or challenges and how to overcome them. Some of the key challenges are outlined below:

Cultural Misunderstandings

According to the Australian Human RIghts Commission, Australia is a multicultural and a vibrant nation and is home to the oldest continuous cultures in the world. There are over 270 ancestors and more than seven million people have migrated to Australia since 1945 (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2023). The Australian Bureau of Statistics states that the country has a growing ethnic diversity as well as increasing complexities. The diversity is in the form of ancestry, indigenous status, spoken language and religious affiliations (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2022). For a sales professional, navigating through such cultural diversity can be challenging work.

For a successful salesperson cultural competence is very important, and this competence is learned gradually over time (Koopnen et al., 2019). Developing cultural competency within such a multi challenging environment can therefore be a significant issue and lead to cultural misunderstandings with the clients. For a sales professional who is communicating with top level management, such misunderstanding can lead to potential losses for the business during presenting or negotiating terms or prices (Charoensukmongkol, 2020). 

Technical Challenges

According to JP Morgan Chase & Co., (2016), there has been a tremendous growth of online platforms, especially in terms of online economy and participation. With growth in the online platforms there are new innovations in the market. This promotes financial and economic growth (Kihombo et al., 2021). However, with new technologies, there can be challenges in learning and adapting to the new technologies. Even within the digital platform, social media has emerged as a new platform of personal sales (Fraccastoro et al., 2021). These platforms have grown widely and have been often used in sales to prospect new clients, presenting their products, handling potential customer objections and post sales follow up. However, navigating through the diverse social media pages, being updated with the trends and algorithms can be a time consuming aspect. 

Another technical challenge is the data security concerns among customers while sharing their financial information for online purchase. These concerns can be due to the sensitive nature of their data or the fear of cyber-attacks on the website. This leads to concerns about information privacy (Mani & 2022). This can be a technical challenge during the phase of negotiation, after the customer has made the decision to purchase. While selling material handling solutions, a lot of confidential information needs to be shared including the shipment value and source/destination. The potential risk of data security and cyber-attack might discourage the information being shared online (Wai et al., 2019). A major challenge would be to convince them to use these platforms

Why these Issues/Challenges are crucial for B2C/B2B 

For either a B2B or a B2C platform, the problems of cultural misunderstanding and technical challenges can be crucial.

In a multicultural environment such as Australia, both the B2B and B2C businesses have to communicate across a wide diversity of clients and customers. The inability to understand the cultural nuances, sensitivities and customs can cause miscommunications, misinterpretations and offense (Mitra, 2020). Such misinterpretations can directly hinder negotiations and lose deals. In the realm of B2C, any cultural misunderstandings can lead to loss of sales and erosion of customer loyalty. This can lead to damages to brand reputation and loss in market share. Thus cultural misunderstanding is an important issue that is crucial to both B2B as well as B2C setup (Jain & Pareek, 2019).

Technical challenge is another important problem for both B2B and B2C, especially in terms of security concerns for online payment and limited ability to use online platforms. However, such problems can occur more likely among customers in a B2C setup. The technical challenges might cause significant disadvantage for the negotiation process and even lead to loss of sales (Arias-Oliva et al., 2019). Similarly, complexity of the social media platform can be another point of challenge for any sales person who is using social media as the online platform for sales. The complexity can be in terms of creating engaging content that matches with the current trend and interacting with the audiences (Agung & Dharma, 2019). This can be a complicated landscape to navigate through for anyone in online sales, and personal sales.

Ideal ways to Overcome the Issues/Challenges

An important way to navigate through a culturally diverse environment is to develop cultural knowledge and cultural competency. These skills can be developed by understanding and learning about the various cultures in Australia and also understanding the landscape of the sales market. This will also require understanding the cultural practices in communication which can be used as various stages of the sales process. It is also important to communicate clearly when engaging with a culturally and linguistically diverse group. Active listening and the use of correct non-verbal language can greatly help in conversation (Charoensukmongkol & Pandey, 2020).

One of the best approaches to navigate through the technological challenges is to develop knowledge in digital technologies, including social media and online sales platforms. Constantly keeping updates with new technologies can help to try those technologies to improve sales performance. This can be achieved through the approach of continuous learning (Xu et al., 2020). While engaging with customers, the technical proficiency can be used to guide them towards a safe online transaction and develop their confidence and trust.

Section 2 Sales Pitch

I would like to hereby express my keen interest to join your team as a sales associate. Having a strong passion for personal selling and an undying commitment to handle daily challenges, I feel highly confident that I can prove myself to be an important part of the company's growth and success.

The reputation of ABS Performance Pty Ltd in its ability to deliver best sales solutions across the country makes it one of the best organizations to gain knowledge of the best practice standards in the industry. The work also aligns perfectly with my own passions in sales and my interest to work in a dynamic workplace.

In my report, I outlined how the procession of sales experiences various challenges, especially in a diverse market like Australia. The multicultural environment of the country demands a strong understanding about the various cultures and cultural practices and the ability to effectively communicate across this diversity. I believe that my commitment to constantly develop my cultural knowledge and competence can prove to be pivotal in my ability to work successfully in such an environment. I shall keep learning the best ways to communicate in a culturally appropriate manner and ensure the best experience of the clients and customers.

I have a strong prior knowledge about cultural diversity that I have been able to develop through my academic courses. I believe that I can use this knowledge to practice very efficiently and this will help me add value to our organization. In my personal life, I interact with people very often, being a sociable person. This has helped me learn about the correct use of gestures and use active listening skills. This has helped me to develop strong personal relationships with many peers who are from culturally diverse backgrounds. I found my ability to easily communicate and connect with others helps me better understand their expectations and concerns as well. I strongly believe that I can apply such abilities to develop strong interaction with the customers, understand their needs and address them.

I am also a technology enthusiast. I always try to keep updated with the latest technological trends through reading and reviews. This helps me understand how new technologies are impacting the market, including the sales market. I have also experienced how many people can experience technical challenges, especially with new technology. I always try to help others understand and use technology better as I always feel the technologies can greatly improve our lives. I believe that my technologically proficiency can help me to harness technologies in my work and thereby help to improve my performance.

I am very regular on social media platforms. I keep updated with the various trends on social media platforms and the different algorithm changes that take place on platforms like Instagram. I fully understand how Instagram has become a very important sales platform for many businesses. I intend to use this knowledge to drive more sales for the business and help to maintain a strong social media presence in the market.

I have efficient communication skills, especially in terms of written communication, which I have demonstrated in my report. I believe that such a skill can be an asset for an organisation especially considering the digitized world of today. For sales roles, these skills can be useful to write promotional posts, customer emails and performance reports, to name a few. My communication skills, I believe, are a cornerstone of my potential to succeed as a sales person. I have the unique ability to connect with others at a personal level. This can help me to gain the trust of the clients or customers and develop a rapport. I believe, using such skills, I can make the clients/customers more open to my sales pitch. My knack towards effective, persuasive and clear communication can ensure that the clients well understand the benefits and advantages they will gain from our service and thereby fully grasp the value we offer them. My proficiency in both written and verbal communication well equips me not only for selling but also to develop lasting relationships with the clients and I believe that is an important element to be a successful sales person.

Maya Angelou, a poet and author famously quoted "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel '' (Angelou 2013). Developing effective communication is not just about using the right words and gestures, but it is also about developing an emotional connection that leaves a long term impression. This shows the importance of delivering the best quality experience which the clients and customers will remember and I believe that is the value that I can bring to the organization.

Conclusion

I am an ambitious student who has a profound interest in the work of sales. In my academic journey I have always been interested in the art of selling, and the various challenges and opportunities in the profession. My dedication to constantly learn about these problems and find solutions, my ability to communicate effectively and my interest in technology makes me a potential candidate for the job role. I believe that as a sales professional with my set of skills, I can be very successful and add a lot of value to my organisation.

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